In Your Head
by Mythicalnightguard
Summary: Something is wrong with the Tablet, causing the exhibits to relive moments from their past. Some are welcome, while some would best be forgotten. With his friends incapacitated and struggling through these old memories, it is up to Larry to help them reconnect with reality- and to come to terms with the fact that he may not know them as well as he would like to think.


**Author's Note**: This story draws upon the historical pasts of the exhibits, which I have tried to combine with the events from the movies. All of the exhibits have a historical past (even though only a few talk about it), and everything unless otherwise stated can be learned from a simple search. The only exhibits I have taken liberties on are Ahkmenrah and Lancelot- Ahkmenrah because there are no records of a Pharoah by the name, and Lancelot because, similarily, he is a figure from a legend and may or may not have existed. For Lancelot, I tried to stick to the legend; for Ahkmenrah, I tried to emulate what could have happened based on Egyptian culture and the political institutions of the time period (which can be somewhat summed up from the shape of Ahkmenrah's crown).

Hopefully, this story won't be too confusing...

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Larry groaned drowsily, reaching through the darkness to grab hold of his phone. The piercing white screen cut the darkness in his room, forcing him to squint in order to make out the caller ID. Before he clicked the 'accept call' button, he glanced at the time in the corner of the screen.

2:48 am.

Far too early to be receiving any calls from any normal person. Which left only one- or two- possibilities. Considering the woman's name flickering on the screen, the call was definitely not out of place.

Steeling himself for what was sure to either be a drawn-out rant or a tedious question, Larry accepted the call, holding the cellphone to his ear. "Hey, Til. What's up?"

"_Lawrence?_"

The old night guard frowned. The voice was definitely not Tilly's, nor was it even a woman's voice. It was familiar, however, and a part of him was happy to hear it once again- even if its tone hinted at something being wrong.

"Teddy?"

On the other end of the phone, the president breathed a sigh of relief, his voice noticeably strained. "_Thank God you're awake, Lawrence. We have a problem._"

"When is there not a problem?" Larry could not help but sigh under his breath.

Even though TIlly had been at the job for about six months, and he himself absent for the same amount of time, there still always seemed to be trouble of some sort. And as much as he loved his friends and enjoyed them, he also had his own life to attend to. He had a good job as a teacher, which came with early hours and many late nights for grading papers. There were lessons to plan, phone calls to make to parents, and overall, history to teach. All things considered, rushing to and from the museum to help with petty problems was not something he could afford to do.

"_I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't serious, lad. Something's up with the Tablet, and I'm not sure what it is_."

"Did you as Ahk?" Larry rubbed his chin, then scratched at an itch on the back of his head.

"_Of course we did. He's just as unsure as we are._"

Larry rose to his feet, kicking aside the sheets tangled about his legs. He headed for the closet door, rummaging around for a clean shirt and a decent pair of pants. "Describe exactly what it's doing. Is it glowing? Decaying again? What's the deal?"

"_It's...doing none of those things. Just...everyone is acting odd again, just like they did before- but different._"

"Different how?" He asked, now busy tying his boot laces. "Aggressive again, like the last time?"

"_No, more like…._" The president paused, his voice cutting out.

"Like?" Larry prompted, snatching up his keys from the nightstand. "Like what, Teddy?"

"_It's like...I don't know, we just- we need help, Fairbanks." _

Larry frowned, not sure if he heard the president right. "...Fairbanks?"

"_Lawrence, I mean. We need your help._"

"I'm on my way. I guess just…" Larry hesitated. Without much information, it was difficult for him to make any suggestions. "Stay on the line with me until I get there. Tell me what happened when you all woke up."

Teddy waited for a moment, collecting his thoughts before he spoke. "_It felt like any other night, I, personally, woke up and made my way to meet Sacagawea. Nothing too off there, I don't think. Only tonight, she was...unsure of herself._"

Larry sat in the driver's seat of his car, buckling his seatbelt and shoving the key into the ignition. "Go on."

"_She was acting...quiet. Quieter than usual, I suppose. Focused on...something, I don't know exactly what it was she was seeing. Then I started seeing things." _

"Seeing things?" The car backed out of the driveway and onto the street, Larry focused on both the road and the conversation. "What things, Teddy?"

"_I'm not...sure. It was less seeing things, more...remembering things. Things I hadn't thought about in years...and it wasn't just me._"

Larry adjusted the phone to his other ear, freeing up his dominant hand to grasp the wheel. "Who else is having problems?"

"_Everyone. Ahkmenrah keeps slipping back into old Egyptian, Attila has been more aggressive, Lancelot seems...out of it, at best, talking about dragons and grails and what not- and the Round Table, I think. And the boys- even they were not spared._"

"What's wrong with them?" A frown split across Larry's face as he made the turn onto the road the museum was on. The miniatures always garnished a bit more concern than the others- mostly due to their small size and their fragility to most threats- despite what they might argue.

"_Jedediah has been on edge since sundown, hand always on his gun. He hasn't let anyone near him, except for Octavius and Sacagawea when she tries, but even then, he's been...snappy. And Octavius, well- he's been about the same, I'm afraid. On edge, unsure of things- not as confident, you could say. And his speech has become like Ahkmenrah's- a bad blend of English and Latin as if he can't remember how to speak. Same thing with Ahkmenrah in that sense._"

Larry let out a weary breath, pulling the car into the museum's back parking lot. "What about Dexter? Rexy?"

"_All the animals and likewise seem fine, no difference. Although, I think they can sense something is off as well- judging by the way they keep their distance._"

That was a relief- it was always easier to deal with problems when the animals appeared unbothered. "And everyone else? The other exhibits?"

"_Not a word out of them. Confused silence, it would seem._"

"That's not good. I'm here now- where are you guys?"

"_We're all in TIlly's office- your old office. Tilly's out patrolling the rest of the museum while I watch over everyone._"

"Alright. Let her know I'm coming in."

"_Consider it done. The door is already unlocked and waiting for you. Don't fail me, Fairbanks._"

There was that name again- Fairbanks. Larry opened his mouth to ask who it was the president was referring to, but the phone had already disconnected. Without so much as another sigh, he left his car and made his way to the back door, flinging it open without the slightest idea of what he might find.

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It was mostly quiet in the museum, most of the exhibits still in their places, their faces solemn and silent. Some of them had their eyes closed, while others stared ahead of them vacantly, lost in some sort of thought or memory. Even the animals were still, preferring to stay in their places and avoid the more human of the exhibits. It was not until Larry reached his old office that he found the more affected exhibits.

He slowly pushed open the door, conscious of the fact that some of the exhibits, as he had been warned by Teddy, were on edge. With the door opened enough, he let his eyes fall on the familiar faces of his friends- old and new alike.

They were just as Teddy had described them over the phone.

The president himself sat on the chair behind Larry's desk, holding his cheeks in his hands, glasses on the top of the desk and hat pushed to the side. Sacagawea was sitting on the floor nearby him, hands folded in her lap and head down over them. Lancelot had taken a seat in the middle of the couch, clutching a plastic water cup and gazing at it as if in some sort of trance. Ahkmenrah sat beside him, looking down at the Tablet with the same amount of unbreakable focus. The miniatures were on the desk near Teddy, Jedediah pacing along its length and muttering quietly to himself, his hand twitching over the butt of his gun every now and then. Octavius, on the other hand, sat very still, his eyes distant, staring at nothing in particular, but his face clearly twisted in an expression of worry- and what Larry could almost make out to be fear.

None of the exhibits were themselves, nor did they so much as look up at him or greet him.

"Teddy?"

The president looked up at the night guard, face drawn and tired-looking. He gave the old night guard a small nod, then shook his head, to clear some unwanted thoughts from the forefront of his mind.

"Lawrence...glad you made it."

"Yeah...me too. What's going on, Teddy? Are you okay, man?"

Teddy shook his head solemnly, then once more with the same ferocity as he had before, cringing visibly. "I'm...fine. It's just these...memories, I think."

"Memories?"

No response. Larry's frowned deepened. He stepped towards the desk, his eyes flickering down to the two miniature men. The cowboy did not so much as spare him a glance, the only sign he knew the old guard was near a brief faltering in his footsteps. Likewise, the Roman general was still, his gaze the same as it had been before leaving for the Smithsonian so many years ago- staring off into the distance, beyond whatever was in front of him.

"Guys? Jed?" Larry reached out and put a hand in front of the cowboy.

Jedediah responded with something that sounded like a muttered curse, his hand nearly wrenching his pistol free from its holster, causing the night guard to wince.

"Easy, bud, what's wrong with you?"

The cowboy did not respond immediately, only just barely breathing out, "Yah ain't gonna...take me this time, damn it…"

Puzzled, Larry moved on to the Roman, crouching down so his face was right before the tiny man's. "Octavius? You still with me?"

The Roman's eyes shifted to stare into his own, but the general himself did not utter a word. He did not so much as flinch when Larry lightly nudged him with his finger, just to see if he could get a response. All he got was an empty stare, broken only by vague flashes of what he could only describe as fear of some sort- like a frightened animal, or a cornered man with no hope of escape.

With no luck, Larry moved on to the knight, careful to avoid his bulky armor. "Gey, Lance, you in there?"

The knight's face split into a wide grin, his eyes still glued to the plastic cup. "Fear not, my lovely lady, for I have found the grail of legend."

Larry realized he was definitely not going to get anywhere with him. He moved on to Ahkmenrah, hoping the Pharoah, at least, was still somewhat with him. Reaching out a hand to shake the young king, he let it fall on his shoulder and began to speak.

"Ahk-"

The name barely left his lips as he felt something tug at his mind. The room spun, the lights seemed to dim, and the world as he knew it faded away into darkness.


End file.
